The team fired Manny Acta and named Alomar Jr. the interim manager Thursday, and the reason they didn’t wait until the end of the season to give Acta his walking papers is because they want to give Alomar a swift audition before they decide who will lead the Indians next season.

Ideally, as a way to get a respected manager and make a splash in the news cycle, the Indians have already contacted Francona, according to reports. Francona was the man who led the Boston Red Sox to two World Series titles before being chased away after last season’s September collapse.

Francona has said all along he likes his TV gig with ESPN and that he would leave that only if the team he was going to was the right fit. Translated from coach speak to plain English, Francona wants to go to a place where he has monetary resources and a chance to win in 2013.

The Indians provide neither of those things. They don’t draw fans even when they are winning, so their payroll will again fall well into the lower half of teams next year. And it’s not like they can emulate the Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals or even the San Diego Padres by calling up young, cheap talent to help.

Cleveland has almost totally gutted their farm system to the point where the consensus ranks it in the bottom three of the 30 teams. Above the Class A level, the Indians have no help coming through the pipeline, which probably puts them in line for at least a couple more losing seasons before things turn around.

That is one of the reasons Alomar is perfect for this job right now. He has been a managerial candidate for several offseasons now, but his inexperience, and possibly his close ties with the Indians, have worked against him. These final six games are Alomar’s audition and his chance to get even a sliver of experience – the Chicago Cubs hired Dale Sveum with just 12 games of experience, plus one postseason series.

Alomar played for the Indians from 1990-2000 and was named Rookie of the Year in 1990 and made six All-Star teams with the club. He was also a fan favorite during the franchise’s glory days in the mid-to-late 90s.

That means he will be allowed time to grow with this young Indians team. He can survive the potential losing long enough for the help to make its way through the system and not suffer the brunt of the criticism, assuming there will be some to be had.

With Acta’s firing, Alomar gets something of a pass if he is named the manager for the stated reasons and because it is now clear to fans that the team’s losing shouldn’t have fallen entirely on the manager’s shoulders.

An outside manager would not get such a leash. Francona, who played for the Indians in 1988 but is still an outsider, would be expected to win almost immediately. Toronto Blue Jays coach Torey Lovullo, who also played for the Indians in 1998, might have a little more slack than Francona, but he’d still be expected to produce a winner relatively soon.

This job screams for Alomar. The Indians’ front office knows this, and they’ve set themselves up for some positive PR at a time when they really need some.